City wants some say in possible casino move

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By Tory Brecht | Friday, December 8, 2006 1:02 AM CST | () comments

If the owners of the Rhythm City Casino decide to pull out of downtown Davenport seeking a more profitable site elsewhere in the city, aldermen want a measure of control over where it locates.

Wednesday night, the city council voted unanimously to have the city’s community and economic development department review the city’s zoning ordinances and make recommendations that would protect the city’s interests.

Under the city’s current zoning laws, the Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. conceivably could locate in any area that allows “indoor recreation or amusement” — including neighborhoods with bowling alleys and pool halls, according to a memo sent to City Administrator Craig Malin and Corporate Counsel Mary Thee from one of the department’s planners.

Thee said casinos were not addressed in the city’s zoning regulations previously because state law mandated they be on water, and not on land.

The council is addressing the issue now, because Isle officials indicated they are looking at “multiple scenarios” for where a new Rhythm City Casino complex may be located. Increased competition from the new Riverside Casino and Golf Resort south of Iowa City and the change in Iowa law granting casinos wider opportunities to build land-based casinos have forced the company to reconsider its downtown Davenport plans.

Mo Hyder, vice president and general manager of the Isle of Capri operations in the Quad-Cities, said that study is underway.

The memo from community and economic development states that “it has been requested by the city administrator to review options pertaining to the zoning ordinance restricting the location of (casinos) to the “C-4” Central Business District.”

Several aldermen were uncomfortable with language that would force Isle to stay in the downtown area.

“I would like them to move off the riverfront,” said Alderman Keith Meyer, 3rd Ward.

Thee said her understanding is that several options will be presented to the council. Malin was not at Wednesday’s meeting.

The memo laid out three possible options, although it said “the simplest way to handle this” would be to make casinos an allowed use only within the downtown business district and restricting them from any industrial zoned areas.

Option two would force casino companies to get a special-use permit before locating anywhere in the city. However, that would give final control to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and not the city council.

Option three would create a separate district within the zoning ordinance specifically for gambling use. A drawback to that, according to the memo, is that the district would have to be limited, which could pose a legal challenge.

Mayor Ed Winborn said he doesn’t believe the goal is to force the Isle to remain downtown.

“The intent is to put the city in the position of regulating where or where not a business may be located,” he said.

Alderman Shawn Hamerlinck, 2nd Ward, agreed that the city’s best interests must be looked out for.

He had a list of items he said the Isle of Capri needs to address, including finding a new use for the empty Blackhawk Hotel, recouping greenspace on the riverfront, and making good on its funding obligations for skybridge and parking ramp revenue.

Both Thee and Hyder said it is unclear yet whether the existing development agreement reached between the city and the company last year will have to be scrapped and re-negotiated.

“There could be amendments, or there could be negotiations,” Thee said. “Right now, we don’t know.”

Hyder said much depends on the outcome of the location and marketing study currently underway.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” he said. “We’ve had a very good working relationship with the city and we will continue to leverage that relationship to make sure the end result is beneficial not only to us, but for the community as a whole.”

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.